john bernard croak grade 6 2010 art inspired by deb murray’s children’s rights poetry collection...
TRANSCRIPT
John Bernard CroakGrade 6
2010
Art inspired by Deb Murray’s
Children’s Rights Poetry Collection
Poetic Justice
Against the WindWhat should I doTo let you know
When I am hurtingSkin and bones deep?
I know that you love meMore than chocolate ice cream and bananas
Because you tell me every dayBut sometimes even the innocence of the wind scares me
As it flies by full speed aheadWhat should I doTo let you know
When I am hurtingHeart and soul deep?
I know you love me more than all the dollars in the worldBecause you show mw every day
But sometimes even when my heart scares mePounding inside my chest like a drum.
Sometimes I desperately chase the windAs it flies by full speed ahead.
What should I do to let you know
when I am wonderingwhere the wind that I am chasing
will finally take me?
I’m Born Free
I’m born free…As free as the dragonflies hovering above the clothesline…
As free as the sound of happily crashing wavesAs free as the poetry of a babbling brook
And free as the birds that rain down on my own backyard feeder.I’m born free…
As free as changing your mind at the last minuteAs free as a heart beating wild in a race
As free as the beautiful colors on a rainbow palette.I’m born free…
As free as imagination will take meAs free as the winter wind that carries me along
As free as the shadows that chase me behind my backAs free as the beauty of a panoramic, mountain view.
I’m born free and I’m born luckyIf there was a world-wide game of Red Rover
any time soonI’d call you over
from wherever you areso that you could be born free
with me.
What’s Right?What’s right
and what are rights?Some people get up in the morning
not even realizinghow truly lucky they are
they look for good luck in their livesand they have no idea
that they are it.Some people count on miracles
and some doubt that they even existsome people just expect miracles to happen…
I know I do.Some people count their blessing out loud
but other must do it by accident in their heads.In many places in the world there are kids with no family
no home and no last name even.They stare through imaginary windows
dreaming of something other kids like mewatch every day
and may even click the remote to cancel out.I know what’s right
and I know what rights are.I also know that I should be standing in line
with six billion other peoplewho know the same thing.
I Have a QuestionI am shorter than the average kid my agethey say that it’s because of my genes…
will you make jokes about me?I am slightly over- weight
because of medication I need to take…will I stick out like a sore thumb?
I wear glasses that look like bottles…I need them to see the smile on your face…
will there be one there for me?My legs are made of special metal
and I can take them completely off…can I still be part of your team?
I can’t afford to wear brand-name clothingmy foster family is rich, but only in love..
will I blend in nicely when the picture is taken?I know what you are saying to me
but because my voice is sadly locked insideI can not reply…
will I ever be understood?I hear the music through my feet
and know by instinct that the song is beautifully sung…will you ever ask me to dance?
I Have My Rights You Know!You can’t make me do it
I know you can’tI have my rights you know!
You can’t make me clean up after myselfbecause I should certainly know better…
I’m only 4.You can’t make me share my toys with my little brother
just because he always shares with me…I’m only 5.
You can’t make me do my homework right after suppereven through you are always available then to help me…
I’m only 6.You can’t make me put my dirty clothes in the basket
even if I try pretending they are basketballs heading towards the hoopI’m only 7.
You can’t make me turn off the television and go to bedjust because my eyes are wearing hoods of their own…
I’m only 8.You can’t make me brush my teeth every day
and floss to save my beautiful smile…I’m only 9.
You can’t make me keep the noise level downto a nice inside voice for once…
I’m only 10.You can’t make me shovel the driveway in the bitter Cape Breton cold…
I’m only 11.You can’t make me smile when Aunt Myrtle gives me
home-made socks again for Christmaseven if they took her a week to do for heaven’s sake…
I’m only 12.You can’t make me do it
I know you can’t.I have my rights you know…
right?
RainbowI am a rainbow
that your eyes may not open wide enough to see.
Unless you stop exactly long enoughto take it all in,
I may simply look like just another crayonaccidently pulled from a box of life
and pushed back infor being the wrong shade.
I am a rainbowthat your eyes may not open wide enough
to seeUnless you like to color outside the lines
you may not even look for me at all.I am a rainbow
and I am also a box of crayonsthat has been spilled on purpose
right beside youand I am patiently waitingfor your eyes to see me
and to choose meAnd to smile.
Different?Someone told me that I am different
that I don’t belong and that I never will.Well, they are right in some ways…
I am different as marble and sandstoneas different as an ice cube
that dares to try floating in molasses soupas different as yesterday from today.
I am different in so many waysthat I can’t even count them myself.My eyes see wizards in the clouds
and rocks shaped like Japan along the roadside.They see a path left behind as a sparrow flies by
and birch trees breathing inside the bark.If being different is a bad thing
then I do not want to ever belong to a group that marches along like lemmings might do
in a ragged uniform of their own making.We have the right to be ourselves
to plant flowers in the storm of indifferenceto blow bubbles in the winds of change
and to hold hands and skip in the moonlightif we want.
Absolutely InnocentI think the law says I’m innocent until proven guilty so…
I guess I didn’t leave the car door openso the raven could get inside to build his nest
and I didn’t leave the wet towels on the basement floortrying to determine what that awful smell was.
I guess I didn’t leave the fridge door slightly openso that I could find out once and for all
who turns the light off insideand I didn’t tie my kid sister to the swing set
so I could practice for my Boy Scout outdoor skill badge.I guess I didn’t autograph
the underside of the kitchen cupboardsso that we could all laugh about it in years to come
and I didn’t read my comic books till midnightby the light of dad’s emergency flashlight.
I didn’t blame my older brother unjustlyany time, any where, ever
and I didn’t listen in on the extension phoneas mom ordered my surprise birthday gift through Sears
last week.I didn’t track the mud into the living room
after riding through puddlestesting water displacement properties for science class
and I didn’t paint the target on the side of the barnjust a little bit too close to the window.
I think the law says I’m innocent until proven guilty so…You do believe me right?
RemembranceI can remember when I was young…
you would hold my handas I tried to walk on rubber legs.
I can still hear you screaming out for joywhen I let go, even though I fell afterwards.
I remember the smell of powder being sprinkled onand your nose against my belly blowing bubbles.
I sometimes find my feet magically dancingto a tune that comes, not to my lips, but to my heart…a song about a mockingbird and how I should hush.
I can remember when I was young…people staring at me with a toothless grin
and faces like a mask telling you I was a spiting image.I sometimes find my feet magically walking
In rug worn circles as the clock ticks time for sleep.Now that I’m 10 and all grown up to be myself
will you still scream out for joywhen I take a first step on my own?
Because of how you love meI will always remember to love back.
Will you remember too?
Me PromisesThese are some of the me promises I have made:
I will not be afraid to be myselfonce I find out who I am
When I hear things I don’t quite believeI will patiently wait for the evidence I need
to turn my believer’s light on.If I make mistakes a lot
I promise to uphold my rights to do so.I’ll continue to trust you
with my heart and soul wrapped around each otherunless,
for some reason,you cause me to feel differently.
I will grow at my own rate and speedand I will slow down
when potholes in the road of life threaten to swallow me.When I look in the mirror
I will be best friends with the child staring back at meand I will never doubtthat I am as important
as important can ever be.
Tell Me WhenWhen is it ok to put the book away
and run barefoot in the field you are reading aboutor to drop the broom
and play hockey with the dust balls you are sweeping?When is it ok to stop making the bed
and climb inside the blankets to hide fromimaginary dragons and trolls
or to stop taking the garbage can outand use its lid as a well-brandished shield
in a medieval joust?When is it ok to stop washing the dishes
to test the floating capacitiesof an air tight plastic containeror to simply play a game at all
though there is much work yet to be done?When I am really old
like..let’s say..fiftyI hope that I am a still asking these same questions
right out loud!
I’d Rather NotI’d rather not go to school today…
my pet tarantula has a fever…the sky is way too blue…
and my socks have totally squished my toes into a knot.I’d rather not go to school today…
my homework got eaten by gargoyles…the sun is dangerously bright
and my teacher is trying my patience to the limit.I’d rather not go to school today…
my book bag has dissolved into thin air…the wind is blowing in the wrong direction…
and I haven’t got a single thing to wear!I’d rather not go to school today…
my legs are strawberry jelly…the forecast call for especially wet rain…and my freckles are really, really sore.
I’d rather not go to school today…my throat has a hibernating frog in it…
the clouds are painting pictures that scare me…and I’m afraid you’ll miss me too much when I am gone.
I’d rather not go to school today…but I will because somewhere in the world right now
there’s a kid my age who’d love toand cannot!
My Family TreeMy family tree isn’t growing in my yard
like a typical tree doesit’s growing inside my house.
My parents say we are Canadianbut that we are also from places far away
like England, Scotland, France, Ireland and Poland.In my class at school
the trees are a forest of diversitysome kids come from placesI had never heard of before
like: Antigua, Cameroon, Costa Rica and New Guinea.Where in the world is Polynesia anyway?
Does it snow in Montevideo?Is there a drought in Taipei?
The family trees of my classmatesmake a strange orchard
that water itselfthrough tears of pride
and joy.
Want To, Need To, Have To
I want to be a popular movie star…I need to be the best me I can be…
I have the right to dream.I want to ride a shiny, new, expensive bike…
I need to lock my flea market hand- me –down model every night…I have the right to hope for change to happen.
I want to jump and play all day…I need to share the work-load with others…
I have the right to some time just for me.I want to be an astronaut…
I need to be realisticI have the right to imagine
that no matter how farfetched an idea seemsjust maybe I can make it come true.
I want to swim in a secret seaand ride the waves as a dolphin…
I need to be patient as I grow and learn new things…I have the right to believe that miracles ca
and will happeneven to me!